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Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This work considers a small random perturbation of alpha-stable jump type nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions over an interval. It has two stable points whose domains of attraction meet in a separating manifold with several saddle points. Extending a method developed by Imkeller and Pavlyukevich it proves that in contrast to a Gaussian perturbation, the expected exit and transition times between the domains of attraction depend polynomially on the noise intensity in the small intensity limit. Moreover the solution exhibits metastable behavior: there is a polynomial time scale along which the solution dynamics correspond asymptotically to the dynamic behavior of a finite-state Markov chain switching between the stable states. 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -'Meteorological Satellite Systems' is a primer on weather satellites and their Earth applications. This book reviews historic developments and recent technological advancements in GEO and polar orbiting meteorological satellites. It explores the evolution of these remote sensing technologies and their capabilities to monitor short- and long-term changes in weather patterns in response to climate change. Satellites developed by various countries, such as U.S. meteorological satellites, EUMETSAT, and Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Indian satellite platforms are reviewed. This book also discusses international efforts to coordinate meteorological remote sensing data collection and sharing.This title provides a ready and quick reference for information about meteorological satellites. It serves as a useful tool for a broad audience that includes students, academics, private consultants, engineers, scientists, and teachers. 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Gas phase biosensors.- Chromatography in the downstream processing of biotechnological products.- Extractive bioconversion of lactic acid.- Production of rhamnolipid biosurfactants.- Microbial carotenoids.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Symmetry and invariance properties of the coupling parameters.- Different models for the potential energy in crystals.- Dynamics of molecular crystals.- Anharmonic effects in thermodynamical properties.- Point defects in crystal lattices.- Interaction of phonons with particles and radiation.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Radical eliminations from gaseous cation radicals via multistep pathways ¿ The concept of ¿hidden¿ hydrogen rearrangements.- Recent advances in thiepin chemistry.- Short-lived phosphorus(V) compounds having coordination number 3.- Chemistry of saturated bicyclic peroxides (the prostaglandin connection).

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Stereochemistry of multibridged, multilayered, and multistepped aromatic compounds ¿ Transanular steric and electronic effects.- Isotope effects in hydrogen atom transfer reactions.- N-methylacetamide as a solvent.- EROS A computer program for generating sequences of reactions.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The 24th century: humankind has become a spacefaring civilization, colonizing the solar system and beyond. While no alien forms of life have yet been encountered in this expansion into space, colonists suddenly encounter machines of alien origin - huge robots able to reproduce themselves. Called replicators by the colonists, they seem to have but a single goal: to destroy all organic life they come in contact with.Since the colonial governments have no means to fight this menace directly, they instead promise huge rewards to whoever destroys a replicator. As a result, the frontier attracts a new kind of adventurers, the Hunters, who work to find and destroy the replicators. Mike Edwards, a skilled young maintenance technician and robotics expert at a faraway outpost, will not only become one of them - but be the very first one to unlock the secret behind the replicators¿ origin and mission.The scientific and technical aspects underlying the plot - in particular space travel, robotics and self-replicating spacecraft - are introduced and discussed by the author in an extensive non-technical appendix.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 140 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Data warehouses consolidate various activities of a business and often form the backbone for generating reports that support important business decisions. Errors in data tend to creep in for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include errors during input data collection and errors while merging data collected independently across different databases. These errors in data warehouses often result in erroneous upstream reports, and could impact business decisions negatively. Therefore, one of the critical challenges while maintaining large data warehouses is that of ensuring the quality of data in the data warehouse remains high. The process of maintaining high data quality is commonly referred to as data cleaning. In this book, we first discuss the goals of data cleaning. Often, the goals of data cleaning are not well defined and could mean different solutions in different scenarios. Toward clarifying these goals, we abstract out a common set of data cleaning tasks that often need to be addressed. This abstraction allows us to develop solutions for these common data cleaning tasks. We then discuss a few popular approaches for developing such solutions. In particular, we focus on an operator-centric approach for developing a data cleaning platform. The operator-centric approach involves the development of customizable operators that could be used as building blocks for developing common solutions. This is similar to the approach of relational algebra for query processing. The basic set of operators can be put together to build complex queries. Finally, we discuss the development of custom scripts which leverage the basic data cleaning operators along with relational operators to implement effective solutions for data cleaning tasks.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 88 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Ice and Fire: Great Comets to Comewas written because a special celestial event climaxes towards the end of 2013 ¿ the arrival, fresh from the Oort Cloud, of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). By all predictions ¿ even the most pessimistic ones ¿ this comet is set to be one of, perhaps the most, dazzling comet seen in modern history and has the astronomical world buzzing with anticipation.Skywatchers have already been primed for C/2012 (ISON) earlier in 2013 with the apparition of another naked-eye comet, C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS), and following C/2012 S1 (ISON) there is the prospect of 2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) reaching naked eye visibility in August 2014. Future bright cometary prospects are also discussed, taking into account the latest predictions.Examining the origin and nature of comets using examples of great cometsfrom the past, this book sets the scene for the arrival of Comet C/2012 S1 and those following it over the next few years in the inner Solar System.Skywatchers and amateur astronomers can learn how to follow, observe and record comets. There is also a guide on how to keep abreast of the latest cometary discoveries and how to use a variety of reputable sources, including publications, websites, programs and apps to visualize and plan observations.The role of the amateur in cometary discovery also is featured, as well as details on how professional astronomers plan to get the most ¿science¿ out of cometary apparitions, how and why professionals go about discovering comets, and upcoming plans to visit comets with space probes (and later, perhaps, human visits).Illustrations provide historic images of comets, images from space probes and images of the latest bright comets. Orbital plots and easy-to-follow sky charts are also included.This book is a unique guide that sets the scene by giving a comprehensive history of comets and examples of great comets throughout history and informs the reader about the nature and originsof this spectacular occurence.Expectations are fully covered by explaining not only what the regular person can expect to see, but how amateur astronomers can plan observations and what steps the professionals are taking to ¿get the most science¿ from this exciting event.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 308 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The Kalman filter is the Bayesian optimum solution to the problem of sequentially estimating the states of a dynamical system in which the state evolution and measurement processes are both linear and Gaussian. Given the ubiquity of such systems, the Kalman filter finds use in a variety of applications, e.g., target tracking, guidance and navigation, and communications systems. The purpose of this book is to present a brief introduction to Kalman filtering. The theoretical framework of the Kalman filter is first presented, followed by examples showing its use in practical applications. Extensions of the method to nonlinear problems and distributed applications are discussed. A software implementation of the algorithm in the MATLAB programming language is provided, as well as MATLAB code for several example applications discussed in the manuscript.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This lecture presents a modern approach for the computation of Mathieu functions. These functions find application in boundary value analysis such as electromagnetic scattering from elliptic cylinders and flat strips, as well as the analogous acoustic and optical problems, and many other applications in science and engineering. The authors review the traditional approach used for these functions, show its limitations, and provide an alternative 'tuned' approach enabling improved accuracy and convergence. The performance of this approach is investigated for a wide range of parameters and machine precision. Examples from electromagnetic scattering are provided for illustration and to show the convergence of the typical series that employ Mathieu functions for boundary value analysis.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Design for security is an essential aspect of the design of future computers. However, security is not well understood by the computer architecture community. Many important security aspects have evolved over the last several decades in the cryptography, operating systems, and networking communities. This book attempts to introduce the computer architecture student, researcher, or practitioner to the basic concepts of security and threat-based design. Past work in different security communities can inform our thinking and provide a rich set of technologies for building architectural support for security into all future computers and embedded computing devices and appliances. I have tried to keep the book short, which means that many interesting topics and applications could not be included. What the book focuses on are the fundamental security concepts, across different security communities, that should be understood by any computer architect trying to design or evaluate security-awarecomputer architectures.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 112 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -In this book we give an overview of modeling techniques used to describe computer systems to mathematical optimization tools. We give a brief introduction to various classes of mathematical optimization frameworks with special focus on mixed integer linear programming which provides a good balance between solver time and expressiveness. We present four detailed case studies -- instruction set customization, data center resource management, spatial architecture scheduling, and resource allocation in tiled architectures -- showing how MILP can be used and quantifying by how much it outperforms traditional design exploration techniques. This book should help a skilled systems designer to learn techniques for using MILP in their problems, and the skilled optimization expert to understand the types of computer systems problems that MILP can be applied to.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -With its theme, 'Our Information, Always and Forever,' Part I of this book covers the basics of personal information management (PIM) including six essential activities of PIM and six (different) ways in which information can be personal to us. Part I then goes on to explore key issues that arise in the 'great migration' of our information onto the Web and into a myriad of mobile devices. Part 2 provides a more focused look at technologies for managing information that promise to profoundly alter our practices of PIM and, through these practices, the way we lead our lives. Part 2 is in five chapters: - Chapter 5. Technologies of Input and Output. Technologies in support of gesture, touch, voice, and even eye movements combine to support a more natural user interface (NUI). Technologies of output include glasses and 'watch' watches. Output will also increasingly be animated with options to 'zoom'. - Chapter 6. Technologies to Save Our Information. We can opt for 'life logs' to record our experiences with increasing fidelity. What will we use these logs for And what isn¿t recorded that should be - Chapter 7. Technologies to Search Our Information. The potential for personalized search is enormous and mostly yet to be realized. Persistent searches, situated in our information landscape, will allow us to maintain a diversity of projects and areas of interest without a need to continually switch from one to another to handle incoming information. - Chapter 8. Technologies to Structure Our Information. Structure is key if we are to keep, find, and make effective use of our information. But how best to structure And how best to share structured information between the applications we use, with other people, and also with ourselves over time What lessons can we draw from the failures and successes in web-based efforts to share structure - Chapter 9. PIM Transformed and Transforming: Stories from the Past, Present and Future. Part 2 concludes with a comparison between Licklider¿s world of information in 1957 and our own world of information today. And then we consider what the world of information is likely to look like in 2057. Licklider estimated that he spent 85% of his 'thinking time' in activities that were clerical and mechanical and might (someday) be delegated to the computer. What percentage of our own time is spent with the clerical and mechanical What about in 2057 Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Reading is a complex human activity that has evolved, and co-evolved, with technology over thousands of years. Mass printing in the fifteenth century firmly established what we know as the modern book, with its physical format of covers and paper pages, and now-standard features such as page numbers, footnotes, and diagrams. Today, electronic documents are enabling paperless reading supported by eReading technologies such as Kindles and Nooks, yet a high proportion of users still opt to print on paper before reading. This persistent habit of 'printing to read' is one sign of the shortcomings of digital documents -- although the popularity of eReaders is one sign of the shortcomings of paper. How do we get the best of both worlds The physical properties of paper (for example, it is light, thin, and flexible) contribute to the ease with which physical documents are manipulated; but these properties have a completely different set of affordances to their digital equivalents. Paper can befolded, ripped, or scribbled on almost subconsciously -- activities that require significant cognitive attention in their digital form, if they are even possible. The nearly subliminal interaction that comes from years of learned behavior with paper has been described as lightweight interaction, which is achieved when a person actively reads an article in a way that is so easy and unselfconscious that they are not apt to remember their actions later. Reading is now in a period of rapid change, and digital text is fast becoming the predominant mode of reading. As a society, we are merely at the start of the journey of designing truly effective tools for handling digital text. This book investigates the advantages of paper, how the affordances of paper can be realized in digital form, and what forms best support lightweight interaction for active reading. To understand how to design for the future, we review the ways reading technology and reader behavior have both changed and remainedconstant over hundreds of years. We explore the reasoning behind reader behavior and introduce and evaluate several user interface designs that implement these lightweight properties familiar from our everyday use of paper. We start by looking back, reviewing the development of reading technology and the progress of research on reading over many years. Drawing key concepts from this review, we move forward to develop and test methods for creating new and more effective interactions for supporting digital reading. Finally, we lay down a set of lightweight attributes which can be used as evidence-based guidelines to improve the usability of future digital reading technologies. By the end of this book, then, we hope you will be equipped to critique the present state of digital reading, and to better design and evaluate new interaction styles and technologies.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Research on social networks has exploded over the last decade. To a large extent, this has been fueled by the spectacular growth of social media and online social networking sites, which continue growing at a very fast pace, as well as by the increasing availability of very large social network datasets for purposes of research. A rich body of this research has been devoted to the analysis of the propagation of information, influence, innovations, infections, practices and customs through networks. Can we build models to explain the way these propagations occur How can we validate our models against any available real datasets consisting of a social network and propagation traces that occurred in the past These are just some questions studied by researchers in this area. Information propagation models find applications in viral marketing, outbreak detection, finding key blog posts to read in order to catch important stories, finding leaders or trendsetters, information feed ranking,etc. A number of algorithmic problems arising in these applications have been abstracted and studied extensively by researchers under the garb of influence maximization. This book starts with a detailed description of well-established diffusion models, including the independent cascade model and the linear threshold model, that have been successful at explaining propagation phenomena. We describe their properties as well as numerous extensions to them, introducing aspects such as competition, budget, and time-criticality, among many others. We delve deep into the key problem of influence maximization, which selects key individuals to activate in order to influence a large fraction of a network. Influence maximization in classic diffusion models including both the independent cascade and the linear threshold models is computationally intractable, more precisely #P-hard, and we describe several approximation algorithms and scalable heuristics that have been proposed in the literature. Finally, we also deal with key issues that need to be tackled in order to turn this research into practice, such as learning the strength with which individuals in a network influence each other, as well as the practical aspects of this research including the availability of datasets and software tools for facilitating research. We conclude with a discussion of various research problems that remain open, both from a technical perspective and from the viewpoint of transferring the results of research into industry strength applications.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The aim of the handbook is to provide a practical guide for residents and general radiologists, organized alphabetically, primarily according to disease or condition. The handbook will be designed as a short booklet with some illustrations and schemesand will cover topicson cardiac MDCT and MRI. Entries typically include a short description of pathological and clinical characteristics, guidance on selection of the most appropriate imaging technique, a schematic review of potential diagnostic clues, and useful tips and tricks. ¿Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This work considers a small random perturbation of alpha-stable jump type nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions over an interval. It has two stable points whose domains of attraction meet in a separating manifold with several saddle points. Extending a method developed by Imkeller and Pavlyukevich it proves that in contrast to a Gaussian perturbation, the expected exit and transition times between the domains of attraction depend polynomially on the noise intensity in the small intensity limit. Moreover the solution exhibits metastable behavior: there is a polynomial time scale along which the solution dynamics correspond asymptotically to the dynamic behavior of a finite-state Markov chain switching between the stable states.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Amateur astronomers of all skill levels are always contemplating their next telescope, and this book points the way to the most suitable instruments. Similarly, those who are buying their first telescopes ¿ and these days not necessarily a low-cost one ¿ will be able to compare and contrast different types and manufacturers. This exciting and revised new guide provides an extensive overview of binoculars and telescopes. It includes detailed up-to-date information on sources, selection and use of virtually every major type, brand, and model on today¿s market, a truly invaluable treasure-trove of information and helpful advice for all amateur astronomers.Originally written in 2006, much of the first edition is inevitably now out of date, as equipment advances and manufacturers come and go. This second edition not only updates all the existing sections of ¿A Buyer¿s and User¿s Guide to Astronomical Telescopes and Binoculars¿ but adds two new ones: Astro-imaging and Professional-Amateur collaboration. Thanks to the rapid and amazing developments that have been made in digital cameras ¿ not those specialist cool-chip astronomical cameras, not even DSLRs, but regular general-purpose vacation cameras ¿ it is easily possible to image all sorts of astronomical objects and fields. Technical developments, including the Internet, have alsomade it possible for amateur astronomers to make a real contribution to science by working with professionals.Selecting the right device for a variety of purposes can be an overwhelming task in a market crowded with observing options, but this comprehensive guide clarifies the process. Anyone planning to purchase binoculars or telescopes for astronomy ¿ whether as a first instrument or as an upgrade to the next level ¿ will find this book a treasure-trove of information and advice.It also suppliesthe reader with many usefulhints and tips on using astronomical telescopes or binoculars toget the best possible results from your purchase.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This monograph discusses the existence and regularity properties of local times associated to a continuous semimartingale, as well as excursion theory for Brownian paths. Realizations of Brownian excursion processes may be translated in terms of the realizations of a Wiener process under certain conditions. With this aim in mind, the monograph presents applications to topics which are not usually treated with the same tools, e.g.: arc sine law, laws of functionals of Brownian motion, and the Feynman-Kac formula.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 148 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This unique book presents a nontechnical view of the history of mechanics, from the Big Bang to present day. The impact of mechanics on the evolution of a variety of subjects is vividly illustrated, including astronomy, geology, astrophysics, anthropology, archeology, ancient history, Renaissance art, music, meteorology, modern structural engineering, mathematics, medicine, warfare, and sports. While enormous in scope, the subject matter is covered (with ample photographic support) at a level designed to capture the interest of both the learned and the curious. The book concludes with a creative and thoughtful examination of the current state of mechanics and possibilities for the future of mechanics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 436 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The beginning astronomical observer passes through a series of stages. The initial stage is hugely exciting and gives the beginner a real buzz as he discovers some of the faint fuzzy objects, markings on the planets, rings around Saturn and the craters on the Moon. But as the novice observer progresses, he or she wants to know what more there is than looking at faint fuzzy blobs or indistinct planet markings. Many jump to the conclusion ¿ wrongly ¿ that they need to spend lots of money on expensive equipment to progress. ¿From Casual Stargazer to Amateur Astronomer¿ has been written specifically to address this group of budding stargazers.Astronomy is much more than a quick sightseeing tour. Patient observers who can develop their skills will start to appreciate what they are seeing, and will know exactly what to look out for on any particular night. And equally important, they will learn what not to expect to see. ¿From Casual Stargazer to Amateur Astronomer¿ is for those who want to develop observing skills beyond mere sightseeing, and learn some of the techniques used to carry out enjoyable ¿ and scientifically useful ¿ observations. It will also direct readers to make informed choices about what can be seen and when. This book is for anyone keen to develop their skills as an amateur astronomer.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 276 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -April 12, 2011 was the 50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering journey into space. To commemorate this momentous achievement, Springer-Praxis has produced a mini-series of books that reveals how humanity's knowledge of flying, working, and living in space has grown in the last half century.'Partners in Space' focuses on the early to late 1990s, a time in the post-Soviet era when relations between East and West steadily - though not without difficulty - thawed and the foundations of real harmony and genuine co-operation were laid for the first time with Shuttle-Mir and the International Space Station. This book explores the events which preceded that new ear, including the political demise of Space Station Freedom and the consequences of the fall of the Soviet Union on a once-proud human space program. It traces the history of 'the Partnership' through the often traumatic times of Shuttle-Mir and closes on the eve of the launch of Zarya, the first component of today's International Space Station.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 512 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -While most texts on real analysis are content to assume the real numbers, or to treat them only briefly, this text makes a serious study of the real number system and the issues it brings to light. Analysis needs the real numbers to model the line, and to support the concepts of continuity and measure. But these seemingly simple requirements lead to deep issues of set theory¿uncountability, the axiom of choice, and large cardinals. In fact, virtually all the concepts of infinite set theory are needed for a proper understanding of the real numbers, and hence of analysis itself.By focusing on the set-theoretic aspects of analysis, this text makes the best of two worlds: it combines a down-to-earth introduction to set theory with an exposition of the essence of analysis¿the study of infinite processes on the real numbers. It is intended for senior undergraduates, but it will also be attractive to graduate students and professional mathematicians who, until now, have been contentto 'assume' the real numbers. Its prerequisites are calculus and basic mathematics.Mathematical history is woven into the text, explaining how the concepts of real number and infinity developed to meet the needs of analysis from ancient times to the late twentieth century. This rich presentation of history, along with a background of proofs, examples, exercises, and explanatory remarks, will help motivate the reader. The material covered includes classic topics from both set theory and real analysis courses, such as countable and uncountable sets, countable ordinals, the continuum problem, the Cantor¿Schröder¿Bernstein theorem, continuous functions, uniform convergence, Zorn's lemma, Borel sets, Baire functions, Lebesgue measure, and Riemann integrable functions.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book describes and illustrates the application of several asymptotic methods that have proved useful in the authors' research in electromagnetics and antennas. We first define asymptotic approximations and expansions and explain these concepts in detail. We then develop certain prerequisites from complex analysis such as power series, multivalued functions (including the concepts of branch points and branch cuts), and the all-important gamma function. Of particular importance is the idea of analytic continuation (of functions of a single complex variable); our discussions here include some recent, direct applications to antennas and computational electromagnetics. Then, specific methods are discussed. These include integration by parts and the Riemann-Lebesgue lemma, the use of contour integration in conjunction with other methods, techniques related to Laplace's method and Watson's lemma, the asymptotic behavior of certain Fourier sine and cosine transforms, and the Poisson summation formula (including its version for finite sums). Often underutilized in the literature are asymptotic techniques based on the Mellin transform; our treatment of this subject complements the techniques presented in our recent Synthesis Lecture on the exact (not asymptotic) evaluation of integrals.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 208 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -In its early years, the field of computer vision was largely motivated by researchers seeking computational models of biological vision and solutions to practical problems in manufacturing, defense, and medicine. For the past two decades or so, there has been an increasing interest in computer vision as an input modality in the context of human-computer interaction. Such vision-based interaction can endow interactive systems with visual capabilities similar to those important to human-human interaction, in order to perceive non-verbal cues and incorporate this information in applications such as interactive gaming, visualization, art installations, intelligent agent interaction, and various kinds of command and control tasks. Enabling this kind of rich, visual and multimodal interaction requires interactive-time solutions to problems such as detecting and recognizing faces and facial expressions, determining a person's direction of gaze and focus of attention, tracking movement of thebody, and recognizing various kinds of gestures. In building technologies for vision-based interaction, there are choices to be made as to the range of possible sensors employed (e.g., single camera, stereo rig, depth camera), the precision and granularity of the desired outputs, the mobility of the solution, usability issues, etc. Practical considerations dictate that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the variety of interaction scenarios; however, there are principles and methodological approaches common to a wide range of problems in the domain. While new sensors such as the Microsoft Kinect are having a major influence on the research and practice of vision-based interaction in various settings, they are just a starting point for continued progress in the area. In this book, we discuss the landscape of history, opportunities, and challenges in this area of vision-based interaction; we review the state-of-the-art and seminal works in detecting and recognizing the human body and its components; we explore both static and dynamic approaches to 'looking at people' vision problems; and we place the computer vision work in the context of other modalities and multimodal applications. Readers should gain a thorough understanding of current and future possibilities of computer vision technologies in the context of human-computer interaction.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Motivated by the many and long-standing contributions of H. Gerber and E. Shiu, this book gives a modern perspective on the problem of ruin for the classical Cramér¿Lundberg model and the surplus of an insurance company. The book studies martingales and path decompositions, which are the main tools used in analysing the distribution of the time of ruin, the wealth prior to ruin and the deficit at ruin. Recent developments in exotic ruin theory are also considered. In particular, by making dividend or tax payments out of the surplus process, the effect on ruin is explored.Gerber-Shiu Risk Theory can be used as lecture notes and is suitable for a graduate course. Each chapter corresponds to approximately two hours of lectures.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Meteor showers are among the most spectacular celestial events that may be observed by the naked eye, and have been the object of fascination throughout human history. In ¿Meteor Showers: An Annotated Catalog,¿ the interested observer can access detailed research on over 100 annual and periodic meteor streams in order to capitalize on these majestic spectacles. Each meteor shower entry includes details of their discovery, important observations and orbits, and gives a full picture of duration, location in the sky, and expected hourly rates. Armed with a fuller understanding, the amateur observer can better view and appreciate the shower of their choice.The original book, published in 1988, has been updated with over 25 years of research in this new and improved edition. Almost every meteor shower study is expanded, with some original minor showers being dropped while new ones are added. The book also includes breakthroughs in the study of meteor showers, such as accurate predictions of outbursts as well as comet and meteor observations from the 6th century to the 17th century that were not published in the first edition. It holds all of the information needed to inspire a new observer or provide deeper knowledge to the long-time enthusiast.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 380 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy is a fast-moving and complex discipline within cardiology in general. New studies, trials and indications are appearing on a regular basis. This series, and this particular title within the series, is designed to establish the baseline level of knowledge that a cardiovascular professional needs to know on a day-to-day basis. The information within is designed to allow readers to learn quickly and with certainty the mode of action, the possible adverse effects, and the management of patients prescribed these drugs. The emphasis is on current practice, but with an eye to the near-future direction of treatment. This book is intended to update clinicians on recent data on the medical management of patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes.Alongside each book in the series, this title has been established to allow rapid publication of new editions to cover developments in the field.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Fora general audience interested insolving mysteries in art, history, and literature using the methods of science, 'forensic astronomy' is a thrilling new field of exploration. Astronomical calculations are the basis of the studies, which have the advantage of bringing to readers both evocative images and a better understanding of the skies.Weather facts, volcano studies, topography, tides, historical letters and diaries, famous paintings, military records, and the friendly assistance of experts in related fields add variety, depth, and interest to the work. The chosen topics are selected for their wide public recognition and intrigue, involving artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, and Ansel Adams; historical events such as the Battle of Marathon, the death of Julius Caesar, the American Revolution, and World War II; and literary authors such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Joyce, and Mary Shelley. This book sets out to answer these mysteries indicated with the means and expertise of astronomy, opening the door to a richer experience of human culture and its relationship with nature.Each subject is carefully analyzed. As an example using the study of sky paintings by Vincent van Gogh, the analytical method would include: computer calculations of historical skies above France in the 19th century finding and quoting the clues found in translations of original letters by Van Gogh making site visits to France to determine the precise locations when Van Gogh set up his easel and what celestial objects are depicted.For each historical event influenced by astronomy, there would be a different kind of mystery to be solved. As an example: How can the phase of the Moon and time of moonrise help to explain a turning point of the American Civil War - the fatal wounding of Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville in 1863 For each literary reference to astronomy, itwas determined which celestial objects were being described and making an argument that the author is describing an actual event. For example, what was the date of the moonlit scene when Mary Shelley first had the idea for her novel ¿Frankenstein ¿These and more fun riddles will enchant and delight the fan of art and astronomy.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 376 pp. Englisch.